The Ones You Least Expect
by Rogue Wildmage
Summary: Kel is in love with Neal. Junak wants to kill Neal. Yuki is in love with Junak, but is having Neals baby. Hehehehe...this could be fun....KELNEAL
1. Prologue

**((THE ONES YOU LEAST EXPECT))**

**PROLOGUE: FALLING**

Heyaz everyone!!! Please read my story, and review, cos it's my first try at fanfic and, yeah, It'd be nice to know if its any good, but yeah, I'll try to get the rest up ASAP....

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, if I did, I would be rich and writing for some publisher, instead of not pov and writing for a fanfiction site, so yeah...don't sue me, K**_??? _

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_'If fears what makes us decide,_

_Our future journey,_

_I'm not along for the ride,_

_cos I'm still yearning,_

_To try and touch the sun,_

_My fingers burning,_

_Before you're old you are young,_

_Yeah I'm still learning.....'_

_**Avril Lavigne 'Falling'**_

0oOoOoOoOo0

"For Mithros sake Neal!" Yuki yelled, her brown eyes dancing with fury. "Don't you care that my homeland is dying? That people who are dear to me are dying?" face coldly tears streamed down her face, the only thing that cooled her hot cheeks, red with a rage you wouldn't expect of such a small woman...

"Don't YOU care that people are dying here?? In MY homeland?" Neal yelled back. _'How has it all come to this?'_ he wondered, why couldn't she see his side? He'd lived in Tortall all his life, and he couldn't leave it right now. Of course he was worried about the Isles, everyone was! But...what about his homeland?? What about everything he had worked so hard for? He couldn't just up and leave! What about his family? His knighthood? What about Kel?

_'Wait'_ he thought _'where did that come from?'_ he hadn't worked for Kel, she'd just, well, appeared... _'and besides' _he added to himself _'I've hardly seen her since the wedding...' _

"What about my knighthood??" Neal yelled, his rage suddenly building again "I can make use of it here, I have a position! Power!" he paused, attempting to calm himself. He had learnt long ago there was no use yelling at someone if they couldn't understand you "In the Yamani's, I'll be a nobody, I'll be of no use to anyone...they might not even let me in!!!"

Yuki sighed as though he was the dumbest person in the world rather than a university candidate "Neal, you know how desperate they are! They'd let thieves and murderers in at the moment as long as they were willing to help!"

"So go find a murderer and have him as a husband" Neal drawled back, in a calm way he knew would annoy Yuki just as much as yelling "Because I, my pearl, am not going anywhere"

"A murderer would be more useful than YOU!!!!" she screamed, "You speak of not leaving your knighthood, yet you sit around here all day doing nothing, you are USELESS Nealan of Queenscove!!! USELESS!!!!" and with that she ran from the room, sobbing.

"Go argue it out with the king," Neal shrugged to himself "He's the one who put me here" With that, he thrust himself out into the cold, slamming the door behind him.

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_'I'm standing out in the street,_

_the earth is moving,_

_I feel it under my feet,_

_but I'm still proving,_

_that I can stand my ground,_

_but my feet are bare,_

_haven't washed my hair,_

_to be lost before you are found,_

_don't mean your losing.'_

_**Avril Lavigne 'Falling'**_

0oOoOoOoOo0

Neal wrapped the ends of his shirt around his frozen hands, maybe Dom was right, maybe he was just a meathead. _'If I had to make a statement' he thought to himself 'I could have done it with a coat on.' _He sighed, and turned back towards the warmth of the castle. There was nothing he could do to change Yuki's opinion, and tonight was too damn cold even to try. Kicking through the slush that coated the grass, he stared up at the sky and watched the last fading sunbeams give in to the dark.

Suddenly, he stopped, as though those dying rays signalled his own defeat. What if it was always too damn cold? What if he had to go on running mildly back to Yuki for the rest of his life? Running back to her like a weakling? Never getting his way, never making her understand.....

_'Yuki's right'_ he decided _'I am useless.'_ But where else could he go? Cleon had been useless since he'd got married, he could try Dom....but he was barely ever at home anymore _'always out own some adventure with the own, the lucky man'_, He couldn't stay the night at Kel's, that would raise far to many eyebrows, and he hadn't talked to Merric and Owen in so long that he barely knew them anymore.

Oh, what was the point, there was no help for him, he was in far, far too deep... somewhere along the line he had single headedly lost everything that had once made him happy. Why had he become a knight, always at the mercy of the crown? Why had he become a husband? Always at the mercy of Yuki? Everything was so far gone now; there was nothing left for him. _'There's nothing left for me' _he thought _'nothing left for me' _

And it was with that thought running endlessly through his brain that Neal drew a small dagger from his sword belt, and placed it over his heart.


	2. Going Under

**((THE ONES YOU LEAST EXPECT))**

**CHAPTER ONE: GOING UNDER**

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

I noe, wot I've got up til now is partly hatemail cos I almost/did kill off neal (I'm not giving that away, u'll have to read it to find out!) But heres the first real chapter so REVIEW IT!!!!

**Disclaimer: I know I don't own the characters, but I do own the plot, and I'd really appreciate it if you could review it for me.....**

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_'Wake me up inside,_

_Wake me up inside,_

_Call my name and save me from the dark,_

_Bid my blood to run,_

_Before I come undone,_

_Save me from the nothing I've become'_

_**Evanesence 'Bring Me to Life'**_

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Domitan of Masbolle looked gloomily out from under his helmet. He still had about 15 minutes ride before he reached the castle, and it looked like it could rain any minute. It was a crummy day to pick to win brownie points anyway. It was freezing... then there was the rain...Oh, and the fact that he was exhausted, covered in bruises and HUNGRY.

_'Yup'_ he thought to himself _'No sane person would have volunteered for this job.'_ Unfortunately though, Dom did not always act entirely sane. Especially where his Cousin Neal's best friend-Lady Knight Keladry of Mindelan- was concerned. Even messenger duty in the freezing cold was worth it if it meant he could see her sooner. Of course, he was serving his country, and taking important news to the king and all, but somehow, when he thought about Kel, everything else seemed so....irrelevant.....

....and he did stupid things, like offer to ride onto Corrus at six o'clock in the freezing cold (and getting colder) to deliver a progress report that the king saying things he already knew, just so he could see her a day sooner.

He was really bordering on obsession here.

_'Now'_ Dom wondered, pushing his long-ish hair out of his face, _'which back way is that shortcut to the castle??'_ there was no use dwelling on how stupid he was now, he decided, he'd surprise Kel first...maybe she'd have dinner with him?

Dom glanced down the next back way....And nearly fell of his horse

0oOoOoOoOo0

Neal had decided that that there was some truth to old wives tales, even when one was at war with ones wife. In the moment he drew his dagger to his chest, he truly had seen his life flash before his eyes.

Except, according to his brain, his life seemed to involve an awful lot of Kel: Kel laughing, Kel telling him to eat his vegetables, Kel bashing up scanrans, Kel calling him meathead, Kel making out with Cleon, Kel making out with him....woah! Ok, where had that come from? This was Kel!

Neal place the knife up against his flesh. It didn't matter, in a minute; none of it would matter....

...Suddenly however, a new face seemed to have joined Kel in his memories; it was dark, big, male and sounded a lot like Dom...

...Oh, no it was shaking him, great, he was just about to have that memory, the one when Dom told his whole family about that time when they were little and...

..._'Hey wait a minute'_ he thought _'the sound on this memory is pretty damn good'_

"Neal, NEAL!!! FOR MITHROS SAKE SNAP OUT OF IT!!! WAKE UP!!!Oh Gods, wake up..." Dom was in tears now....Neal couldn't just commit suicide!!! If confident, wacky Neal felt the need to go suicidal, then what chance did the rest of Corrus have???

0oOoOoOoOo0

Yuki tasted the salty tears as they ran down her cheeks. What was she going to do??? She was needed desperately in the Yamani Isles, there were.....'family' matters too attend too.

But Neal wouldn't go, and she couldn't leave him now! What if it didn't work out? What if they didn't pull it off and she didn't have Neal to turn too? Where would she be then? She had no help here except for Kel, and she could only help so much. She was surprised she could even remember telling Kel. She'd been quite delirious at the time.

No, she had to make this work...somehow...but it was almost as if Neal knew that she was hiding something...he'd been far more...irratable lately, as though something was wrong. And although he claimed that nothing was wrong, he had been going out walking a lot more than usual, thinking, she supposed. If Yuki hadn't known better, she would have said he was seeing someone else, or contemplating it...

But that was ridiculous! Who could he possibly want more than her? He married her, didn't he? And she hadn't noticed him hanging around with any new different girls to usual. He could he possibly like, Lady Alanna? Princess Shinkokami? Kel?

_'No'_ Yuki decided _'Neal's just suspicious, everything will be fine...just fine'_

0oOoOoOoOo0

Yay!!!!! I'm finished....please review, I have no idea if peeps like it or not.....I'll review yours if you want, just tell me which story to do...yeah, thanx....I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP!!!


	3. Angel

**((THE ONES YOU LEAST EXPECT))**

**CHAPTER TWO: ANGEL**

Heyaz, sorry this chapter doesn't tell much, but I have to have it or the story wouldn't make sense, so yeah, please review!!!

**Disclaimer: I don't own. U don't sue**_. _

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_'God send me an angel_

_From the heavens above,_

_Send me an angel,_

_To give my broken heart a reason to love,_

_Cos All I do, is cry,_

_God Send me an angel,_

_To wipe the tears from my eyes_

_**Amanda Perez 'Angel'**_

0oOoOoOoOo0

Keladry of Mindelan swung the heavy glaive around her head in an intricate pattern dance that few could understand, and even fewer could copy. She didn't know why, but she had found it impossible to sleep that night. Something was stopping her. So deep was her concentration that she barely noticed when Dom crept up behind her.

"Arrr!!" Dom yelled, as the glaive swung neatly over his head, missing him only by inches, enough so that Kel could control it, but not enough that Dom could shake of his experience readily.

"Will you be careful with that thing? You're gonna kill someone one day, honestly" He snapped, hands on hips, anger making his usually friendly features seem sharp and unforgiving.

Kel just gaped at him. This was not the Dom she knew. What had got into everyone lately? It had just been a joke! She would never have hurt him! Besides, Dom wasn't due home from his duties with the own until tomorrow. What on earth was going on?

"Do you want something sir????" She finally asked her eyes confused and partly angry.

Dom's face immediately softened. "Man, I'm sorry Kel, It's just, it's just....." He sank down onto a nearby couch, immediately feeling guilty about treating Kel the way he had. _'Keep it together'_ he told himself mentally _'If you want to court her, yelling at her is NOT a good way to go about it' _"...Well, I'm not sure what to do it all" he finally finished.

Kel glanced at him, worried, she'd never seen Dom so distressed before! _This must be big,' _she thought. What if something had something happened to the own? To Lord Raoul? Had he hurt himself? Was Yuki Ok? _'Oh Gods'_ she thought suddenly, _'what if someone's found out about...'_

Kel controlled herself, she wouldn't get anything out of him by being panicked or paranoid. "Sit down" she said, pointing to the sofa "Tell me everything" she said, sitting down next to him.

Dom sat, but remained silent for several moments before he finally got the words out. "It's...Neal" He whispered. "I was on my way home from the border, I took scout duty and....and..."

Dom looked up at Kel, who merely waited patiently for him to speak, that was what he loved about her. Anyone else would have asked him a million questions by now, and he probably would have backed out of telling them anything, but she just sat there, like an angel, and waited...

"And I found Neal....he...he'd pulled a dagger on himself, he was...he was trying to kill himself I guess" He blurted. Immediately wishing he hadn't. Kel's eyes grew wide with shock, horror and something else he couldn't quite pinpoint.

"I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you Kel" he continued. "But...well, I don't know if things are going that well with Yuki, he wouldn't tell me much, but, from what I could gather they had a bit of a...disagreement if you will"

Kel continued to stare at him; she looked completely shocked, even panicked. It wasn't going to be a good night.

_'This'_ he supposed, _'is what you get for taking scout duty in the pouring rain.'_

0oOoOoOoOo0

Neal waited, as quietly as possible, outside Kel's door. He was already ashamed of what he had done. But now that someone had saved him, he'd decided that perhaps he should have gone through with it after all. He could just imagine Kel's face as Dom told her. He couldn't hear anything they were saying, and yet, he could imagine it. Dom sitting there, struggling to get the words out, and Kel, sitting there, waiting like the angel she was.

And then, it would sink in, she'd probably be horrified, distraught..... She'd probably cry, and only Dom would be there to comfort her...

...Lucky bastard.

Neal leaned against the wall and continued to fume. It WASN'T FAIR!!!! How come Dom had had the sense to stay single and he had to go and get married. Stupid, stupid, stupid...

Why the hell had he tried to kill himself? How stupid was he? This would go on his permanent record! The whole castle would end up thinking he was a complete nut! Besides, he couldn't die. He was Sir Nealan of Queenscove, and he had his whole life ahead of him...

'_But what will people think of me now?' _he wondered _'I won't be funny, self centered Neal anymore, I'll be Neal the fruitcake who could pull a knife n himself at any given moment!'_

Neal felt like punching himself. How could he have been so dumb? No-one would ever think of him the same way again!

Grabbing the wall, Neal slammed his forehead against it as hard as he could.

That when he heard the scream. Kel's scream.

0oOoOoOoOo0

Kel felt Doms hand close around her mouth.

"Shut up" he hissed "people are trying to sleep you know"

"Sorry" Kel whispered. Truth is she hadn't really believed him until she'd seen it for herself. Neal, her best friend, banging his head against the wall in his second suicide attempt in one evening. What was she going to do?

"This isn't what it looks like" Neal babbled "I'm not suicidal, I'm "

WHAT WAS SHE GOING TO DO? What was Yuki going to do; after all, this all came back to Yuki in one way or another....wait a minute, Yuki....

"Where's Yuki, Neal" she asked him, trying to sound firm but not mad, if he really was suicidal, you never knew what might push him over the edge.

"At Home," Neal replied looking sheepish "We had a fight"

Kel nearly swore out loud, so it was true...but it couldn't be! Neal and Yuki couldn't have a fight! Not now!!! Kel chewed on her lip and contemplated what she should say. She couldn't sound too interested in Neal and Yuki's fight or she might just get Neal suspicious and give the game away. And that was the last thing she needed...

"Well, you'd better come inside then" she sighed. There was nothing else she could do. Neal was her best friend, and despite his oddities, she cared about him more than words could say. The court gossips she could deal with, but Kel really did not want to have the talk she thought must be coming. Everything that had happened had hit her like a blow and bought on a wave of tiredness. She really didn't want to deal with tis right now.

0oOoOoOoOo0

Neal really didn't want to go into Kel's rooms. He knew it was a bad idea, but what other choice did he have? He refused to go home to Yuki, Merric was out of town, and Cleon wouldn't have him now that he was married. Dom still had to report to the king, which would probably take until sunrise with all the necessary royal carryings-on, and he'd be reprimanded for lateness as it was. Neal sighed. It was going to be a very annoying night, she'd want to talk and he'd want to sleep, but he had no choice. Besides, Kel was obviously scared by the whole suicide thing. _'Dammit,'_ he thought, _'why did I ever do that? How stupid could I possibly have been?'_ He'd made Kel scream. Neal had never heard Kel scream before now, and he didn't like it....

.....but yet he did, he liked that Kel liked him enough to scream only for him......He liked it a lot.....And it was starting to scare him....


	4. Confusion

**((THE ONES YOU LEAST EXPECT))**

**CHAPTER THREE: CONFUSION**

Man, I've just been reading my prologue again, how bad was it; It never really never explained why

Neal wanted to commit suicide, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO IN THIS CHAPTER!!!! MWAAHAHAHHAHAHHAA!!!

But never fear ladies and gentlemen (well, actually, I highly doubt that there are any guys reading TP fanfic, but hey, lets not discriminate!) the biggest twist is yet to come, well the biggest twists actually, this story is rapidly turning into a neighbours script. But no LJ, not even you know about these twists....they are top secret!!

Again MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

**Disclaimer: TP owns all the characters, and I own all my twists, and lame as they are, I'd really ****appreciate it if you didn't try to copy them, or sue me, cos I've only got 15 bucks**

0oOoOoOoOo0

_My head is spinning around and it's making me dizzy,_

_Spinning around, and it's making me,_

_You don't understand what I'm going through,_

_Just too, find a way to climb,_

_But it'll be in my own time'_

**_Delta Goodrem 'In my own time'_**

(kinda dumb chapter name and song, I noe, but it works, even if it's lame)

0oOoOoOoOo0

Kel leaned against the closed door of her rooms and glanced, partly terrified, partly angry, partly curious, and partly cynical, at the man sitting on her couch. It surprised her even after all they'd been through together just how handsome he actually was. There was many a court lady who would have given anything to have this man in her rooms for the night, despite the fact that he was happily married. _'Yup'_ Kel decided _'this is officially depressing'_ she had quite possibly the most handsome man in all of Tortall sitting on her couch in the middle of the night, and she couldn't bring herself to feel interested. _'Well'_ she mused _'Not tonight anyway'_

Thankfully, Neal interrupted Kel's thoughts before she could realise what she had just, well, thought.

"So," Neal sighed, "I suppose you wanna know every tiny, microscopic detail about why I did it, and what I'm going to do now"

Kel glanced at Neal with raised eyebrows. Sometimes he could be so juvenile, did he really expect her to just sit down and listen to all his problems, like some bloody psychologist? Well, on any normal occasion, she probably would have, but knowing what Neal had done, knowing what she knew, and it being well past midnight. Well, she needed a little time to cool off.

"No Neal, I don't" She finally said, "I want you to lie down on that couch, go to sleep and quit annoying me"

0oOoOoOoOo0

Yuki tossed and turned in bed, trying to get comfortable. If Neal was trying to scare her, he was doing a very good job. She hadn't slept at all, but then, she had spent a fair amount of time crying. Still there was nothing she could do at one o'clock in the morning. She'd sleep in in tomorrow morning (or this morning, if you want to be picky:P), and then meet up with Neal for lunch. That way, she wouldn't look to desperate, and she wouldn't have to spend all morning worrying about the baby.

_'Yes that's right the baby'_ she thought, _'you have to pull this off, think off the baby.'_ Yuki sighed, the whole thing was turning into such a _mess_ over something so _normal_, and yet she could still see Neal's face when she'd asked him about it.

_"A baby?"_ ...he'd said, when Yuki had innocently asked the classic 'do you want kids' question... _"Yeah sure"_ he'd said, and Yuki's heart had immediately lifted, _'I knew it would be OK'_ she'd thought _'We'll just say its premature, and no-one should ask too many questions'_ but oh how wrong she had been...

_"But"_ he'd continued, after a pause to take a large gulp of his drink. _"I don't think I'd want any kids until I'm at least twenty-five or so"_

That's when her heart had sunk too somewhere around her knees.

That's when she knew it had all been for nothing. The marriage, leaving her homeland, it had all been to save the baby, and Neal didn't even want it.

Yuki rolled over again, it was getting harder and harder to sleep like this. Her stomach seemed to get bigger every day. Only her spelled clothes kept Neal from seeing that she was having his child. Occasionally, Yuki would beat herself up about it. Why hadn't she just got one of those charm things, like every other girl? Why had she had to get drunk in the first place? Why had she allowed him to get drunk too? But it all came back to her realising she couldn't help it now, and trying to figure out what would be the best thing to do under the circumstances.

Except that now that she knew what to do, she couldn't even get the whole thing to happen. Neal absolutely refused to visit the Yamani Isles - despite the plague and her insistences - and that, really, was the babies only hope. She had no relatives in Tortall, no-one who looked enough like her so that she could pass the baby off as theirs. But in the Yamanis? That was another story. Why, her very own sister, Thokami, had been married three years, and had had no children so far. She was beginning to fear that she was barren, and would have been glad to take the baby of Yuki's hands quietly, and yet it couldn't happen without Neal. She was a young married woman. People would talk if she disappeared.

Yuki almost laughed out loud to herself, she sounded like a conspirator in one of those terrible romance novels court ladies read. But still, Neal didn't want this baby, and if she kept it, it might just push him over the edge. He might just divorce her, and if he did that, she'd be out on the streets. To marry Neal, she'd disowned her family...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging noise coming from the front of the house. _'Great'_ she thought sighing, _'Either Neal's back, or someone wants to murder me.' _What a choice, a useless husband who'd walked out on her, or a ruthless loser who wanted to kill her. It was a close choice, but in the present circumstance, the murderer was looking appealing.

Yuki giggled to herself as she crossed the room to open the door. What was the point in being scared about it, whoever it was would eventually open the door, and even it was a murderer, perhaps he would put her out of her misery. After all there had to be something better than all this worry.

Yuki opened the door, and found it.

0oOoOoOoOo0

Neal groaned as he rolled over, trying to get comfortable on the overstuffed couch in Kel's living room. Before now, he had thought this was a fairly nice couch, unfortunately, tonight had definitely changed his opinion. The thing was not only lumpy and uncomfortable, but it was far too small. His legs were starting to cramp up from being tucked so closely against him, and it was a complicated balancing act just too keep himself from falling off sideways. There was absolutely no way in hell that he was ever, ever going to be able to get comfortable on this thing, let alone fall asleep in it.

Neal sighed and rolled onto his back. If he couldn't sleep he may as well think about just what had made him go nuts with the knife for a while there. He wasn't suicidal; he knew that for sure, he never gave up on something he really wanted, no matter how stupid he may look while getting it. He'd proved that by achieving his knighthood at such a late age. So why did he decide to give up on life as soon as it started to deal him a bad hand?

Neal sighed. His heart knew the answer, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to admit it too himself yet, especially not at two o'clock in the morning while sleeping (or attempting too anyway) on somebody else's couch. Still, Neal knew he had to try.

Because in the end, it all came down to the two people he spent the most time with, Yuki and Kel, and if he didn't get it out soon, he was gonna go insane....

'_Lets see'_ he thought to himself _'I wanted to commit suicide because I feel I'm wasting my life on Yuki, and that something is going on with her right now that I don't know about, and that she wants to go the Yamani Isles, and I don't, even though the plague there is getting extremely out of control, it also bugs me that the whole Yamani's thing probably has something to do with whatever she's keeping from me, and she expects me to just up and leave, so she can have her affair or whatever it is she wants to do. Oh, and she called me useless because I won't go'_

Neal pondered this for a second. It all made sense; his domestic life had spun him into a huge fit of rage which had compelled him to go suicidal...

'_But where does Kel fit in?'_ he wondered, every time he saw her now, he felt this rush of feelings, memories, he felt the need to just hold her and never let her go, yet he wanted to kill her for tempting him to betray Yuki. And yet at the same time, he hated Yuki's guts just because she was, well, alive.....

That's when Neal realised the inevitable....

He was in way, way too deep.

0oOoOoOoOo0

Yuki gaped, open mouthed at the shadowy frame in her doorway. Anyone else would have had to ask the person who they were before they even thought about letting them in, but not Yuki. She knew this particular frame, and all that came with it, better than she knew her own mother.

"Junak?" she babbled "But, but, but they said you were dead,"

"In a way, I was" the man replied, finally stepping into the light, and flashing a winning smile. "I always am when you're not with me".

Yuki, usually won over by sweet talk, could only stare at the man in front of her, and wonder helplessly what she was going to do next.

"Well?" the charming man grinned "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Yuki didn't know what to do, whether she invited him in or not, she would be required to explain, at some point, that she had a husband.

And when she did, it was not going to be pretty....

0oOoOoOoOo0

OMG, finally finished, took soooooooooooooooo long man. Oh well, it's over now.....more soon!!!


	5. Wherever You Will Go

**((THE ONES YOU LEAST EXPECT))**

**CHAPTER FOUR: WHEREVER YOU WILL GO**

Heya Guys!! Heres the next chapter, soz it took so long coming and everything, too many exams man....newayz, here it is, more soon....

**Disclaimer: I dun own any of the characters, I do own all the ridiculously stupid situations that they get into, but I'm not sure thats anything to be proud of....**

0oOoOoOoOo0

_'So lately, been wonderin',_

_Who will be there to take my place,_

_When I'm gone, you'll need love,_

_To light the shadows on your face...._

_....If I could, then I would,_

_I'll go wherever you will go,_

_Way up high or down low,_

_I'll go wherever you will go'_

_**The Calling 'Wherever you will go'**_

0oOoOoOoOo0

Kel looked around, she was in a huge, all white room. So white, it sparkled, and yet, it was hard to see anything. Everything seemed to blend, to merge into one entirely white existence. Kel didn't know where she was, and she found she didn't really care. Right now, she had to get away from Neal. She didn't know how she knew this, but she knew it was essential, unavoidable, she somehow knew that if she didn't run, something terrible would happen.

"Kel, Kel?? Where are you?" Neal's voice called cheerily.

"I'm, I'm ....I'm not here, go away!" Kel heard herself call back.

He did not call again; everything remained silent, still...white, until suddenly, it all began to swirl, blend, until it had morphed into a tunnel. She could see a light at the end, and something told her to go to it, and quickly. Checking behind her for Neal, she began to run, she ran for what seemed hours. Her whole body felt heavier than lead, like the weighted harnesses she'd had to wear for page training, only a million times worse. This lead was somehow inside her, flowing and writhing inside of her, filling every inch, every crack of her body and soul. Yet she knew she had to keep running. She had to get away from Neal, she had too...

Suddenly, everything was changing again. The black tunnel morphed into a room of a very familiar looking green. It looked solid, much better than the white room or the tunnel, but somehow Kel felt that this was the very last place she wanted to be. She turned around to run and ran smack into Neal, who was grinning like a maniac.

"I knew I'd find you" He said, grinning wildly, and drawing her into a hug. It had been ages since Neal had hugged Kel, in or out of a dream, and it felt really good, and yet, strangely bad. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, that it was somehow wrong, unchaste somehow, despite its friendly disguise. Suddenly, she knew why, as Neal jerked her mouth up and caught it with his, kissing her passionately. And oddly enough, Kel found herself kissing him back, and wondering why she had run in the first place. What could be wrong about this? It felt so good...

...and she suddenly remembered Yuki's baby...

0oOoOoOoOo0

Junak and Yuki were standing in Neal and Yuki's foyer.

Junak looked at Yuki...Yuki looked at Junak...Junak looked around at Yuki's house...Yuki looked at the look on Junaks face change as he looked around her house.

As he took in the various swords and books that all compiled to make Neal. She hoped, she prayed that he wouldn't notice their relevance. That he would just think she had...inherited all this stuff. Or something, and yet, she knew he knew her better than that...

"Does...does someone else live here?" He asked finally, looking confused.

"Ummm, yeah..." Yuki blushed, staring at the floor, hoping that somehow she might manage to sink into it. He knew, he must know, he was smarter than he looked.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, she was just about to pull it away, thinking he might hit it, but then, he merely studied her fingers. Slowly, but surely, he began to finger the three rings on her 4th finger. Two encrusted with diamonds, her wedding and engagement rings, and one older looking, ragged silver one, a simple band, with no jewel or decoration to speak of. Her last reminder of Junak.

"I thought....I thought....I thought you promised to love me forever" He stuttered

It was all too much for Yuki, she collapsed into her love's arms, and cried.


	6. Torn

**((THE ONES YOU LEAST EXPECT))**

**CHAPTER FIVE: TORN**

Wow, this things turned out to be a lot longer than anticipated...Fifth chapter, and I'm wondering if my story is all angst and no plot (thankyou to LJ for teaching me that word-angst-I like it, it has funny spelling) but yeah, time to get away from Kel, onto a more important subject-THE RETURN OF DOM!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA..... I can just see all you diehard Kel and Neal fans cringing in terror, well, my writing does quite often make my English teacher cringe I think...hehehehehe....newayz, I'll get on with it....

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'_I though I saw a man brought to life,_

_he was warm he came around, and he was dignified,_

_He showed me what it was to cry....._

_Nothings right I'm torn,_

_I'm all out of faith,_

_this is how I feel......_

_Illusion never changed, into something real,_

_I'm wide awake, and I can see the perfect sky is torn'_

_**Natalie Imbruglia 'Torn'**_

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The cold mist of the morning were just fading to reveal faint rays of sun as Annalise of Gatesbridge crept, panther-like, into the palace corridors, closing the door gently behind her. _'Such a beautiful place'_ she thought to herself. Rather than physical beauty, it had that air about it, the air of beautiful people, an honest character rather than a fixation with money.

_'Unlike some places we could mention'_ she muttered, glaring at the closed door behind her. She tiptoed out into the hall, wishing she knew her way around better. Suddenly, she heard a voice, turning around, she saw a young man walking down the hall behind her, muttering something about someone named Kel...Hoping desperately that he wasn't a maniac, she spoke up...

"Excuse me? Excuse me sir?" She called softly; hoping her father wouldn't hear her and think she was out with a secret lover "Could you tell me where the practice courts are?"

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Dom walked along the corridor feeling like he should commit suicide. This, he decided, must be the lowest of the low. He looked, and felt, like depression on a bad day, which could have been why he was talking to himself in public, something which he usually avoided for fear of ending up in some kind of mental asylum. Still, when you'd managed to put yourself out of favour with the king and, more importantly, your girlfriend – or possible girlfriend - all before breakfast; you had an excuse, at least in Dom's eyes anyway.

"Kel's gonna be after me soon" he muttered to himself "leaving Neal in her rooms all night, imagine what the conservatives will say if they find out" he sighed. Why couldn't he have crushes on...

"Excuse me?" A voice interupted his thoughts, Dom looked up to see a girl.......or perhaps an angel, he wasn't sure.

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Neal awoke at dawn to find Kel still asleep, while this was unusual for her. Still, he was probably not in a position to comment on personality abnormalities, having recently tried to kill himself before spending the night sleeping on Kel's rather uncomfortable sofa. Rubbing his eyes he wondered exactly what had been wrong with him last night. He had tried to kill himself for God's sake. This was not...

A pounding on the door interrupted his thoughts. _'Mithros'_ he thought _'that'll be Yuki'_

Quickly, he scampered into Kel's room and shook her...

"Kel" he hissed "Kel!!! Wake up!"

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Junak was extremely pissed off...

Well this WAS reasonably understandable, I mean, you gotta feel for the guy. He'd just travelled half way across the world only to find that his fiancé had married another man who was obviously a scum bag because not only had he tried to kill himself but had spent the night in another girls rooms. In fact quite understandably, he wanted to kill the guy. (namely a certain Nealan of Queenscove, but he doesn't know that yet :P) So when he opened the door to find the girl who his exes husbands supposed lovers maid (try saying that 3 times fast) he really wasn't in the mood for niceties like "Hello" or "good morning" but instead pushed past the girl, Yuki scurrying behind him like a scared child.

"Junak" she whispered "you don't understand, Neal and Kel are just friends, he must have shown up here this morning, or maybe the guard just made an honest mistake, you know how guards are" she laughed "they're more interested in...." Suddenly, Kel's bedroom door swung open, Kel stepped out, fully dressed, but looking dazed. However, she quickly snapped out of it when she saw Junak. He was rather a large man, and he was putting rather a lot of dirt on her floor.

"Good morning" she greeted him, intimidated, but trying not to show it, "And what can I do for you today?"

Suddenly, there was a large crash from inside Kel's room. Kel grimaced, Junak grinned, Yuki screamed...

And sir Nealan of Queenscove stumbled into Kel's living room.

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MWAHAHAHAHAA!!! Only on more chapter to go people...only one more, then maybe an epilogue, not sure if this chapter makes sense, will probably re-edit the story once its done and make it all nice. Enjoy peoples!!


	7. Choices

**((THE ONES YOU LEAST EXPECT))**

**CHAPTER SIX: CHOICES **

Hey everyone! Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews! Sure, I had to threaten you with the discontinuation of the story, but you all really did me a favour. I was going to ditch this story cos I thought it wasn't going anywhere, but you guys kinda convinced me I was just talking myself out of it.

This chapter may be the last of this story, but there will definitely be an epilogue, after al, Kel and Neal still haven't gotten together!!! How irritating!!! Poor old Neal, I really have put him through a lot in this fic, which make me feel bad, since I consider him to be the perfect guy. I'd also like to apologise for this stories lack of fluff, however if you like Kel/Neal fluff you can check out 'Here and Now' which is a one shot I wrote on the weekend. It's the fluffiest thing I've ever written, but ppl seem to like it.

I am also considering a sequel to come after the epilogue, but more on that when I post up the epilogue.

Disclaimer: I am not Tamora Pierce. Please do not steal my lousy plot.

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_I've been searching deep down in my soul,_

_Word sthat I'm hearing are staring to get old, _

_Feels like I'm starting all over again, _

_The last three years were just pretend, _

_And I said, _

_Goodbye to you, _

_Goodbye to everything I thought I knew, _

_You were the one I loved, _

_The one thing that I tried to hold on to_

_**Michelle Branch – Goodbye to You**_

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Even before Neal had married Yuki he had always wondered whether he was her first love. There had always been that aura about her that she'd lost something important, and wasn't quite sure what to do about it. But the thought had never crossed his mind that she could have married him on the rebound. And yet, thinking about it later he couldn't for the life of him understand how he had never seen it before. It fitted together so nicely: her insecurity, her lack of real emotion, her unwillingness to commit. Things he had passed of as con-incidence before but now shone out of her character blindingly. Yet if it had been obvious before, that morning, as he stumbled in and saw her standing next to Junak, it was undeniable. Watching her hold his arm, stare up at his face...despite the tears in her eyes it was obvious she wanted no-one else, and that she never had.

Neal would cry for Yuki later, but not that morning, and not for the right reasons.

For now, he just knew that his everything he said, everything he did, would shape, if not define, how he would live for the rest of his life.

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For a second Junak regarded the man in front of him _'So this is the famous sir Nealan'_ he thought to himself. His hair was tussled, his eyes were sharp, and Junak felt sure that, even if he was a good husband, he had betrayed Yuki last night. Just the way he looked at the woman Yuki had called Kel told Junak that he wanted her, and after spending the night in her rooms there was little doubt that Neal had got his wish.

And it made Junak so mad that he could hardly breathe.

"I am assuming that you are my Yukimi's husband?" he asked as calmly as he could. As a Yamani he had been taught not to show emotions, and he had always been good at his lessons.

"I am" he replied steadily "Who are you?" his voice lacked any emotion. Yuki had warned him that her husband may get emotional, but this man didn't seem to feel anything. Let alone love for her. Junak's face grew hot with rage. He couldn't let his love be used like this.

"Nealan of Queenscove, I challenge you to a dual in unarmed combat. You will report to the training courts at dawn. You fight for your honor, and your wife"

And then he stormed from the room.

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Yuki stared after Junak, uncertain. Debating a minor gesture that could reshape her whole life. She felt cold tears burn her hot skin as her mind added up pros and cons. She had left her family to marry Neal, she had been that sure that he would be a good replacement for Junak, that sure that she loved him enough to forget the past...

But then she had met Junak again, and in an instant she had known her mistake. She wouldn't die for Neal. She wouldn't put herself through torture for Neal. She didn't want to have children with Neal. She wanted to kiss Neal, touch Neal, let him charm her. She felt lust for Neal. She didn't love him. She never really had.

But Junak, Junak was different. She had been through hell over him, and she'd go through it a thousand times more if it meant she could be with him. She would go through the shame of the divorce. She would do something with the baby, because when she was with Junak she felt loved. And what more could a woman want really?

_NO! _her brain argued _what about Neal! You have a whole life here! You can't just walk out on your whole life!_

And yet, she did.

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Kel could not have felt worse if she'd beat herself over the head with her glaive. She watched as Yuki stood in the doorway; saw Neal's eyes watching her. Taking in every tear, every worried glance in Junak's direction. She saw the hurt in Neal's eyes as Yuki ran out the door after Junak.

After she had pushed him away last night, put her own feelings first, when he had probably just wanted to talk to her. She was meant to be his best friend! How could she...

Kel pushed guilt out of her mind. She couldn't think about that now. There was no way Neal could fight Junak in unarmed combat. Perhaps with swords...but Junak was a Yamani! He would have been trained in unarmed combat since the day he had been born. Neal could lose his life, or worse. She couldn't let him go through with this.

Kel watched Neal walk to the door of her rooms. She felt the need to go after him, but knew that he would have to shed his tears before he would talk sense. Kel had never seen Neal cry, but she had seen his love for Yuki, and such a loss would constitute tears.

Kel sighed and made up her mind go down to the practice courts. She felt a sudden urge to hit something.

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Ok, just to reassure you that most definitely wasn't the last chapter. Have re-evaluated. There will be several more and an epilogue. Keep the reviews coming guys! Sorry I take so long to update. AARRRGGHHHH!!! Wish I could get them together already, stoopid plot...


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